Page 42 of Time After Time (Golden Sands #1)

“Sweetheart, your face,” Cora’s voice shook with worry as she looked me over.

“Let’s go inside and take care of you.” She wrapped her arm around me as we made our way to her house, stopping from time to time so I could stop putting much weight on my knees.

Before going inside, I noticed the wardrobe Sebastian and I had picked out, now sitting on the porch.

Tools were scattered nearby. I guess she had been outside fixing it and saw my entire fall. Great .

Cora guided me to her living room and seated me on the couch after the door closed behind us. “Just hold on a second. I’ll go grab the first aid kit.” With a reassuring nod, she stepped back and called out, “Sebastian! Geneviève is here!”

Immediately, footsteps thudded down the stairs, and I quickly ran my hands through my hair, checking to make sure it wasn’t sticking up. My stomach tightened as I swallowed hard. I was finally going to see Sebastian.

We never went this long without seeing each other unless he was out of Golden Sands for a course or project. But if he’d been here the whole time? Two days without a single word—that just didn’t happen. At least, not until now.

As he walked down the stairs, the first thing I noticed were his toned legs and the dark blue shorts he wore.

His skin had a slight reddish tint, a sign of the sunburn he always got from skipping sunscreen.

But what really caught me off guard was the sweatshirt draped over him, the hood pulled low.

It was strange to see him dressed this way; Sebastian never seemed to get cold in the summer.

As he looked up, his gaze first drifted past the front entrance and into the kitchen. Then, realising I wasn’t where he expected, he turned toward the living room.

His eyes widened in surprise when they met mine, and a small smile tugged at my lips, even in my bloodied and messy state. The sight, however, seemed to catch him off guard as he hurried over to me.

Sebastian dropped to his knees beside me, his hands reaching for my thighs to examine the bruises on my knees. And I probably was out of my mind because when his hands made contact, I was taken back to what we had done in that hotel room, making me feel a bead of sweat on the back of my neck.

“What happened?!” Sebastian’s eyes went to my cheek, his expression tightening.

He took a sharp breath, his brows knitting together as he leaned in, his mouth parting slightly like he was searching for the right words.

The crease in his forehead deepened, and I could see the anxiety flicker in his eyes, making my heart race even more.

“Shit, this doesn’t look good.” He winced as his fingers brushed over the area, eliciting a wince from me at the tenderness of the touch.

“She fell off the bike.” Cora approached us with a furrowed brow while clutching the first aid kit in her hands.

Sebastian’s curls bounced under the hood as he rose, planting a kiss on his mum’s cheek before swiftly taking the kit from her and placing it on a nearby table.

With deft movements, he began rummaging through its contents.

“Why did you come here on the bike?” Sebastian’s voice was sharp, the concern in his eyes barely masking the frustration that tugged at his jaw as he crossed his arms.

Cora patted our shoulders before stepping out, likely to continue her furniture restoration on the porch. I followed her with my gaze until the front door clicked shut, then turned to Sebastian.

“Because you asked me to,” I muttered. His eyes widened in confusion as he knelt in front of me again, holding a bottle of water and a clean towel. “I mean, because you said it was an emergency and I thought I would be faster with the bike.”

His movements suddenly stilled, and when I glanced up, I caught him staring at me, wide-eyed in disbelief. “You actually rode the bike because I said it was an emergency?” His voice trembled with surprise. I nodded, the flutter of anxiety in my chest growing stronger.

“And you thought it would be faster, even though you’re still shaky on it?” He shook his head slightly, as if trying to process it. I nodded again, feeling vulnerable under the weight of his gaze.

He set the bottle and towel down. “You did that for me?” His voice had softened, and I felt a rush of heat flood my chest as I searched his eyes for something deeper.

Sebastian went back to his task, his expression distant as he reached for the supplies to clean my knees and elbows.

His focus was sharp as he wiped the cut on my face with a fresh towel.

The silence pressed down on me, making my palms sweat as I fidgeted with them on my lap. Why was he avoiding my gaze now?

After he finished tending to my wounds, he left the supplies haphazardly on the table, something I rarely saw him do.

But as he took my hand and led me towards his room, I pushed aside any questions about his behaviour because as soon as the door to his room clicked shut, I found myself engulfed by him.

His arms wrapped around my shoulders, drawing me close to his chest, and I surrendered willingly to his embrace.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, my eyes squeezing shut as I let out a long sigh of relief.

Pressing my face against his chest, I sniffed, the familiar scent of apricot and sunscreen enveloping me.

But today, there was something new—an added sweetness to his scent that made it feel even more intoxicating.

“I’m sorry you got hurt,” his voice sounded muffled against the top of my head. “I’m so sorry you got hurt because of me.”

I turned my face, ensuring his shirt didn’t smother my response. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“It was.” With his chin resting atop my head, he continued, “I should have told you what the emergency was.” His arms shifted, palms resting on my shoulders as he gently nudged me back to meet his gaze.

A wave of relief flooded through me when I noticed that, despite a flicker of despair in his eyes, Sebastian still looked at me with the same intensity as before, making it easier for me to breathe.

He tugged at his hoodie, pulling the hood down. Before I could ask what he was doing, he tilted his head, exposing a noticeable hickey on his neck.

“Oh my god,” I gasped in surprise.

My reaction drew a laugh from him. “I didn’t... Did your mum...?”

Sebastian’s hand dropped from his hoodie, and he shifted uncomfortably, his gaze darting away for a moment. “I’ve been wearing hoodies ever since we got back home, even when I’m at the cottage, just in case.”

His hand instinctively moved to the back of his head, fingers tangling in his curls as he looked away from me, making it feel almost impossible to hold his eyes for more than a second.

Did he feel the same swirl of emotions inside? Was his skin still tingling from our brief touch? I wanted so badly to know what was going through his mind, hoping for a glimpse into his feelings while I tried to make sense of my own.

My attempts to catch his gaze slipped away, and I found myself fixated on the subtle movements of his mouth. His bottom lip vanished for a moment as he nervously sucked and bit on it. I had to fight the impulse to mimic him, to find comfort in biting the skin around my thumbs instead.

“Gosh,” I whispered, the word slipping out with a brittle urgency, as if it were my last breath.

It hung in the quiet room, filled with a desperate impatience that made Sebastian glance my way.

His gaze moved over the bruises on my knees, then up to my elbows, before locking onto my eyes.

For a fleeting moment, it felt like his attention lingered on my lips, sending a jolt through me that left me breathless.

“I can’t stand it any longer.”

At my words, his expression shifted, his gaze sharpening as he studied my face, trying to process what I’d just said. His eyes widened, and his brows knit together in confusion. I found myself gripping the sides of my sundress a little tighter.

I closed the distance between us, only inches separating us now. I fought the urge to close my eyes and lose myself in his scent, but his gaze held me captive, making it hard to think. “I might do something crazy,” I whispered, feeling a slight tremor in his chest and seeing the gleam in his eyes.

He let out a soft, breathy chuckle, his eyes darkening slightly. “Like what?”

“Like kissing you,” I confessed.

He bit down on his bottom lip, his gaze drifting to the floor for a moment. I noticed a faint redness on one side, a sign that he might have bitten it too hard or hurt himself.

“I might do something crazy too,” he murmured, lifting his gaze to meet mine.

“Like what?” I asked, my eyes drawn to the tiny smear of blood on his lip where he’d bitten down. He held my gaze, and something about the way he looked at me stayed, like it had settled under my skin.

“Like kissing you back.”

A wave of shyness suddenly hit me, and I nodded vigorously, almost too eagerly. His smile widened at my reaction, and he crossed his arms, leaning against the side of his old bed, his eyes never leaving me.

“That’s…” I struggled to find the right words, my mind racing with nerves. “That’s good.”

His smile grew, and he nodded back, though his response was calmer than mine.

“Gen,” he called out my name, causing my nods to halt as I awaited his next words. “I’m waiting for you to kiss me.”

He didn’t need to say anything else; his words alone pushed me into action.

The tips of my shoes brushed against his as I stepped forward, rising slightly on tiptoe to close the distance between us.

Sebastian stayed still, arms crossed, observing me, his head tilting down just enough to meet me halfway.